Splicing control device



June 7, 1960 AESE T PULSE Filed Jan. 14, 1957 MANUAL I comma;

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.SPLICINGVCONTROL DEVICE latented .June '7, 19,60

' heretofore set forth. .The various features ofnovelty Wilfred H. Stone, Des Moines, 'Iowa, assignorto Mere dith Publishing Company, a corporationof- Iowa Filed Jan. 14, 1957, Ser. No. 633,902 12 Claims. (or. 242-ss.'2

This invention relates generally to control devicesfor printing presses and more particularly to a control device v for -a web splicing mechanism which effects web transfer from one roll of paper to another in a printing press with a minimum of core waste.

In a printing press of the type having a plurality of 20 paper rolls on a reel, the web of paper normally is fed into the press from one roll of paper until the roll diameter is approximately equal to the diameter of the steel core around which the paper is wrapped. Paper from a second roll on the reel then is spliced to the paper from the ex- 25 piring roll to maintain a'continuous web feed to the press. After the paper from the expiring roll is severed from the web, the roll is replaced on the reel with a new roll of paper for later use. In this manner there is a ofshut-down for the renewal of rolls of paper on the r'eeL;

f In-carrying out the splicing operation from the expiring roll to a new roll it has been customary forthe operator to utilize his own judgment in gauging the point at which the splice may most advantageously be made;v Thus, the operator must take into account the speeds of revolution of the rolls and .the amount of paper left on the jcoreof the expiring roll before be manually actuates the splicing mechanism. Manifestly, the splice should bemadeso that there is a minimumof paper or waste left on the core of 4 the expiring roll. Unfortunately, such prior art manual techniques have not proved entirely satisfactory due to their inherent nonuniformity and as a consequence these techniques have been relatively expensive and unreliable.

Accordingly, it is a general object'of this inventionto continuous feed of paper to the press without the necessity 30 which characterize this invention are pointed'out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming'a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and its advantages, reference is had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which is illustrated and described a specific illustrative embodiment of the invention.

A embodiment of a counter wheel which advantageously may be utilized in the invention.

The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing is adapted to provide control of a splice from an expiring roll of paper to an incoming roll of paper at any specified diameter of the expiring roll. It will be appreciated that advantageously the splice is preset to take placeat the expiring roll diameter which ,core waste and which assures a satisfactory transfer of the incoming roll to the web. e

This advantageous result is attained by means of a preset counter, a counting pulse generatorassocia-ted with the expiring roll of paper and a reset pulse generator associated with the web. Thus, as the revolutions per minute of the expiring roll gradually increase for a'given Web speed due to thediminishing diameter of the roll,

the number of pulses applied to the preset counter from the counting pulse generator in a given time interval 5 gradually increases. The rate at which the reset pulses are applied to the preset counter from the reset pulse generator remains constant as determined by the given web speed. Normally then, the preset generator will be reset to zero by a reset pulse before the number of provide an improved splicing control device for use with p a printing press.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved splicing control device for use with a 'web transfer mechanism in a printing press whichenables a web transferto be made from one roll of paper to;

another in an automatic manner and at any variablydesignated time interval.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a splicing control device for a web transfer mechanism in counting pulses reaches the preset value inthe counter and no output pulse will be produced by the counter.

When, however, the expiring roll of paper is reduced 'to a desired diameter, the number, of pulses produced by the counting pulse generator (as determined by the r.p.m.

of the expiring roll) reaches the "preset value in the counter between reset pulses and'the counter will produce an'output signal to automatically actuate the splicing mechanism to complete the splice between the incoming roll and the web. After this .cycle is completed,

'the new expiring roll is revolved into position for the next splice and the oldroll can be replaced.

Referring now to the drawing in which the invention and its features can be seen in detail, there is shown a reel 10 adapted to support a plurality of rolls of paper 12, 14 and 16, positioned at 120 angles with respect to which the transfer-from one roll of paper to another may I be effected automatically and with a predetermined diam-* eter of paper on the first mentioned roll.

It is a stillfurtherobject of this invention to provide an improved splicing'control'device for a web transfer mechanism in which paper from an expiring roll may be automatically spliced to paper from a new roll to maintain a continuous web in a manner which results in a minimum of paper waste on the expiring roll. j

It is 'a still further object of this invention to provide such an improved splicing control device which is characterized by its uniformity, itseificiency,

With these and other objects in view, the invention tion of the various parts 'of the novel splicing control deits reliability consists in the construction'arrangements and combina- 70 each other. Reel comprises an axle-18 whic'hextends to the hubs 20 and 22 of a pair of spaced, parallel aligned Y-members 24 and 26, respectively. The Y-member 24 is formed with radial arms 28, and 32extending outwardly from hub 20 and spaced l20" ;from.' each other. The Y-memjber 26 is formed with radialariiis 34, as and 38 extending outwardly from hub 22 and: also spaced 120 fromeach other. T p v A shaft 40 is journalled through bearings provided at the outer ends of arms 38 and 32 and is adapted to support the roll of paper 12, Similarly,a shaft 42 is'journalled in bearings provided at the outer" ends ofarms 28 and 34 and is adapted to support the roll of paper 16, and a shaft '44 is journalled through bearingsprovided at the outer ends of arms 30 and 36. and is adaptedl'to i I. support the roll of paper 14. -v1ce whereby the ob ects contemplated are attainedas V {In the cycle of operation? shown in Figure L tlie web of paper 46 is fed into the printing press from the expiring roll of paper 12, past the incoming roll 14, and over the idler roller 48. The incoming roll 14 is brought .up to the speed of the web by any suitable means, such as, for example, a motor or a belt drive operatively connected with the expiring roll (not shown).

Thus, the web 46 and the incoming roll of paper 14 have velocities equal to the press speed and the expiring roll of paper 12 is rotated at a speed which gradually increases as the diameter of the roll decreases.

In accordance with features of this invention, the incoming roll 14 is spliced tothe web 46 automatically at a variably mined value. This advantageous result is attained by means of the counter wheels 54, 56 and 58 mounted on extensions of shafts 40, 42 and 44, respectively, of the designated point which advantageously may be when the we diameter of the expiring roll 12 is reduced to a predeterreel, probe 62 mounted in operative association with I the counter wheel of the expiring roll of paper, reset wheel 72 mounted on an extension of shaft 74 of idler roll 48, magnetic switch 86 operatively associated with reset wheel 72, and preset counter 70. The construction of the counter wheels is illustrated by the partially broken view of wheel 54 shown in Figure 3 of the drawing.

,Each counter wheel advantageously comprises a disk 55 V the expiring roll such that a plurality of magnetic impulses equal to the number of pins 60 in the counter wheel are produced in the probe for each revolution of the counter wheel. These impulses are transmitted from probe 62 by any suitable arrangement, such as brushes Y64 and 66, and commutator 68, to a preset counter 70.

Advantageously, preset counter 70 may be an electronic counter of the type described in the patent to W. H.

vBliss, No. 2,521,774, which produces an output pulse after receiving a number of input pulses equal to the number preset on the counter dials.

A reset wheel 72 is fastened to the extension of shaft 74 of the idler roller 48. As shown in detail in Figure 2 .of the drawing, reset wheel 72 may be in the form of a 'split collar comprised of nonferritic segments 76, 78 fastened together by socket head screws 80 and 82. Ad-

vantageously, a magnetic disk 84 is mounted in the reset wheel.

A magnetic switch 86, which may comprise a mercury switch, contact points, or the like, is supported adjacent reset wheel 72 by the plunger 88 of a solenoid relay 90. Advantageously switch 86 is biased by a spring 92 such that when coil 94 of the solenoid is energized, switch 86 is held in close proximity to the reset wheel 72 to the end Although the number of magnetic pins 60 in counter wheel 54 maybe any desired amount, for the purpose of illustrating the operation of the invention, it will be assumed that there are 80 magnetic pins uniformly spaced around the periphery of counter wheel 54-. In this example, reset counter 70 will be set to provide an output pulse to the paster control 98 when 80 counting pulses are applied to the reset counter from conductor 192. Thus, for every revolution of counter wheel 54, 80 pulses will be applied to preset counter 70 and for every revolution of reset wheeljz, one reset pulse will be applied to the preset counter.

It nowwill be appreciated that as long as'the diameter of the expiring roll 12 is greater than the diameter of idler roller 48, the preset counter 70 will be reset to zero before a count of 80 will be reached therein and thus there will be no output from the counter to the paster control 98. When the diameter of the expiring roll of paper 12 is exactly equal to the diameter of idler roller 43, counter wheel 54 and reset wheel 72 will be revolving .at the same number of revolutions per minute. Under these conditions, counter 70 will reach its preset value of eighty in less than one reset interval, i.e., between sucpassage of magnetic disk 84 in the reset wheel thereby.

The reset signals are applied from switch 86 over conductor 96 to the reset input of the preset counter 70. When coil 94 of solenoid 90 is not energized, due to the opening of its circuit by microswitch 104, plunger 88 and switch 86 are pulled out of operative position relative to the reset wheel by the spring bias and no reset signals are produced.

The output of preset counter is applied to a paster control 98 which advantageously may comprise a relay or any other circuit means for actuating the paster 50 upon application of an output pulse from the preset counter. A manual control 10% also is connected to the paster control 98 for enabling the operator to actuate paster 50 manually ahead of the preset diameter in the event a poorly wound roll of paper makes this advisable.

cessive reset pulses from the reset wheel and an output pulse will be applied to paster control 98 to automatically effect a splice of roll 14 to web 46 by the operation of paster 5t) and a severance of roll 12 from the web by the operation of knife 52. Advantageously, the outer layer of paper on roll 14 may be coated with a dry adhesive which is moistened by contact with paster 59. Thus on the next revolution of roll 14 when the moistened adhesive area is placed into contact web 46, roll 14 is spliced to the web to maintain a continuous press feed. It will be appreciated that the splice may equally well be effected by any other suitable means such as, for example, by means of a wet adhesive coated on the outer layer of the incoming roll. When the latter method is used, the web transfer is made by merely pressing the web against the adhesive portion of the incoming roll until the splice is complete.

After the splicing operation, reel 10 is revolved about its axis 120 counterclockwise so that counter wheel 58 on the shaft 44 of roll 14 is in operative position relative to probe 62 to control the .next splicing action. Micro- .switch 104 has an actuating lever 106 which is contacted by lobe 108 of hub 20 .to thereby de-energize solenoid 90, only when roll .14 comes to rest after reel rotation. Consequently, switch 86 is pulled away from reset wheel 72 at the time roll 14 is revolved and no reset pulses are applied to the present counter 70 until roll 14 comes to rest in .its proper position. It also will be appreciated that by virtue of the arrangement of brushes 64 and 66, and commutator 68, no counting pulses from probe 62 are applied to the preset counter 70 until roll 14 is properlly positioned. e

In a web transfer device constructed in accordance with the above description, it was found that each unit increase in the setting of the preset counter decreased the core waste diameter of the expiring roll an average of .050 inch for counter settings between 83 and 88, Thus, by way of example, if idler roller 48 is constructed with the same diameter :as the desired core waste diameter, and with an pin counter wheel 54, the presetcounter 70 would be set 0-11.80 to accomplish web transfer at the desired core waste diameter. By varying the setting on the counter the core waste diameter can be increased or decreased. If the idler roller is made larger than the desired .core waste diameter, and an 80 pin conductor wheel is used, the present counter 70 must be set to read sligh ly more than one revolution. Consequently, the counter must be set higher to accomplish web transfer at the desired core wastediameter.

It will be appreciated that the accuracy of determining the expiring roll diameter is controlled only by the fore,"either of these factors may be varied according to desired accuracy. For instance, by increasing number of 'pins'in'counter wheel or by varying 'rateofreset pulses by means of varying roll diameter or adding more magnets equally spaced around idler roll. I n

It furtherwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the counter wheels and the reset wheel may be constructed in any manner equivalent to the construction shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing. For ex- 'ample,these wheels may be in the form of gears having protrusions such as gear teeth to'ipro'vide the necessary magnetic pulses for the pick-up probes. I Itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications maybe madein the construction and .arrangement of the'parts of the above described web transfer device for printing presses without departing from the real purpose and spirit of the invention and that it is intended to cover by the appended claims any modified forms of structures, circuits or use of equivalents which reasonably may be included within their scope.

What is claimed is: i

1. Means for controlling the splicingof one roll of paper to another roll of paper to maintain a continuous web feed in a printing press comprising a reel, a plurality of shafts'spaced on said reel, each of said shafts' being adapted to rotatably support 'a roll of paper, means for feeding a web of paper from said reel to the printing press including an idler roller adapted to be rotated by said web, a preset counter adapted to producean output signalupon receipt of a preset number of input signals, means for applying'input signals to' said preset eounter comprising a counting pulse generator associated with the roll of paper supplying the web feed for the printing press whereby a plurality of pulses is applied to said preset counter for a given rotational movement of said roll of paper, means for applying a reset pulse to said preset counter comprising reset pulse generator means associated with said idler roller whereby a reset pulse is applied to said preset counter for a given rotational movement of said idler roller, paster means associated with the incoming roll of paper to be spliced to said web, and paster control means for actuating said paster means upon receipt of an output pulse from said preset counter whereby said incoming roll is affixed to said web only when said counting pulse generating means generates a number of pulses equal to the setting of said preset counter before the completion of one resetting interval of said idler roll.

2. Means for controlling an automatic splicing of one roll of paper to another roll of paper comprising a reel, a first and second roll of paper rotatably supported on said reel, means for feeding paper from said first roll of paper over an idler roller to thereby rotate said idler roller, counter means for supplying an output signal upon receipt of a preset number of input signals, means for applying input signals to said counter means comprising 6 4. Control means for actuating a web transfer' 'device to etfect a splice of an incoming roll to the-web feed of a printing press which comprises an expiring roll of paper supplying the web feed to the printing press, count- 'feed, paster means associated with said incoming roll to enable the latter to be affixed to said web'feed and means including a preset counter responsive to pulses from said pulse generator means for actuating said paster means when said expiring roll is reduced to said chosen value.

5. Control means for actuating a web transfer device in accordance with claim 4 further compr'ising'an idler roller frictionally engaged by said web feed and opersaid idlerroller whereby a reset pulse is applied to said counter means for a given rotational movement of said idler roller, and splicing means actuated in response to an output signal from said counter means whereby said first roll of paper is afiixed to said second roll of paper when said pulse generator associated with said first roll applies a number of pulses equal to said preset number to said counter means before the completion of one resetting interval of said idler roll.

3. Means for automatically splicing one roll of paper to another roll of paper in accordance with claim 2 wherein said splicing means when actuated causes the paper on said second roll to become adhesive to enable said second roll to be aflixed to said first roll.

ativ'ely associated with said reset pulse generator means whereby reset-pulses are produced with a reset interval determined by the rotary speed of said idler roller.

6. Control means'for actuating a web transfer device in accordance with claim 5 wherein'said reset pulse generator means comprises a nonferritic disc coupled to said idler roller, permanent magnet means carried by' said disk, and a magnetic switch operatively associated with said disk whereby reset signals are produced-by said magnetic-switch in I6SPOI1SelOx1l1B rotational movement of said idler roller.

'7. Control means for actuating a web transfer device in accordance with claim 6 further comprising a relay having a solenoid connected to said magnetic switch and means for causing said relay to maintain said switch in operative relation with said disk only when said expiring roll of paper is properly positioned for a splicing operation.

8. Control means for actuating a web transfer device in accordance with claim 7 wherein said counting pulse generator means comprises a nonferritic disk coupled to said expiring roll of paper, 'a plurality of magnetic elements spaced around said disk and a magnetic probe operatively associated with said disk whereby a plurality of counting pulses are induced in said probe by said magnetic elements in response to the rotational movement of said expiring roll.

9. Control means for actuating a web transfer device in accordance with claim 8 comprising conductor means connecting the probe associated with said expiring roll to said preset counter to supply counting pulses thereto for each rotational movement of said expiring roll of paper and conductor means connecting the switch associated with said idler roller to said preset counter to supply reset signals thereto whereby said preset counter is operative to actuate said paster only when a number of counting pulses equal to the number preset in said counter is applied to the counter before a reset pulse is applied thereto.

10. Control means for automatically efifecting a splice between a first and second medium, which comprises first rotary means for storing said first medium, second r0 tary means for storing said first medium, feed means for a preset counter connected tosaid pulse generator and said source of reset signals adapted to produce an output pulse whenever a plurality of pulses equal to the preset counter setting is produced by'said pulse generator between, successive reset signals, and splice means operatively connected to said preset ceunter-ior-sp1icing said second medium to said first medium in response to said output pulse. i

1.1. Control .means for a web transfer device usedwith of paper .rotatably mounted on said reel and adapted to supply a web for a printing press, an incoming rollof paper rotatably mounted on said reel and adapted to be spliced to said expiring roll when the diameter of the exnumber of pulses dependent upon the speed of rotation of said expiring r.01l,'rneans for applying the pulses produced by said pulse generator means to said counter means, second pulse generator means associated with said Web and adapted to produce pulses dependent upon 1 the crate i travel of said web, means for applying the pulses produced by .said second pulse generator means to said counter means to reset the latter upon receipt of each pulse, and paster means for splicing said incoming roll to said Web connected to the output of said counter means whereby said pastor means is actuated to effect :1 splice only when the rate of rotation of said expiring a printing pres which comprise a reel, an expiring roll 8 roll is such to apply to said counter means a num er. of pulses equal to said'preset number during a time interval smaller than the time interval between reset pulses applied to said counter means from said second pulse generator means.

12. Control means for actuating a web transfer device to effect a splice of an incoming roll of paper to the Web feed of a printing press which comprises an expiring roll of paper supplying the Web feed to the printing press, a pulse generator associated with the expiring roll of paper and operative to provide a plurality of pulses in response to the rotational movement of said expiring roll of paper, an incoming roll of paper adapted to be spliced to said web feed when the diameter of said expiring .roll has been reduced to a predetermined value, paster means associated with said incoming roll to enable the latter to be afiixed to said web feed and means including a preset counter for actuating said paster means when the diameter of said expiring roll is reduced to said predetermined value as indicated by the receipt of a predetermined number of pulses by said counter from said pulse generator, said preset counter having manually actuatable control means for enabling the splicing diameter of the expiring roll to be selectively adjusted over a range of operating values.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,017,343 Durham Oct. 15, 1935 2,032,244 Wood Feb. 25, 1936 2,048,767 Wood July 28, 1936 2,097,053 Zalesak Oct. 26, 1-937 

